Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski visited Kicevo on Tuesday to talk with citizens about the new developments and to meet outgoing city Mayor Blagoja Despotovski, who failed to win a new term.

Despotovski was a mayoral candidate of the ruling party VMRO-DPMNE, also supported by the opposition party SDSM. Fatmir Dehari, a mayoral candidate of the Democratic Union for Integration (DUI) won the first round of the municipal elections on Sunday, also supported by the Democratic Party of Albanians (DPA).

"I understand and share the anger and revolt with the citizens. Now they have problems, challenges and those are my challenges and my problems as well. That's the reason I am here," Gruevski said.

The Government, he said, will keep working for Kicevo and will do its best to help the citizens.

"We are staying in Kicevo, Kicevo is and will remain the Republic of Macedonia. The Government will triple its efforts to help the people here, provide more jobs, investments in Kicevo for citizens to get what they deserve – a better life. Kicevo citizens deserve a better quality of life and as a Government we are here and we support Kicevo in its development and progress," Gruevski said.

According to him, the situation was created in 2004, when the surrounding villages became part of this municipality, which now has a population made up of around 28,000 Albanians and around 16,000 Macedonians.